The skies over Lucien's growing empire were no longer red with war.
They shimmered gold. Silver. Crimson.
Three provinces bowed. Three sects merged under his name.
Yet the System pulsed with a warning Lucien couldn't ignore.
[System Alert: Unknown Signature Approaching – High-Density Demonic Yin Detected]
Lucien stood at the edge of his newest domain, the Fanged Rose courtyard now wild with uncontrolled blossoms.
Kaelara materialized beside him, hand on sword.
"We have visitors."
Solenne's eyes narrowed. "Or predators."
Lucien smiled thinly. "Maybe both."
From the mist rose a single figure.
A woman.
Tall, wrapped in shadows. Eyes glowing deep amethyst. Black leather robes bound her curves so tight the fabric seemed a second skin.
A rune of blood and ash burned over her heart.
[System Identification: Demonic Envoy – Rank: Abyss-Touched Noble]
The woman bowed low. Mockingly.
"Crown Prince Lucien Blackthorn," she purred, her voice velvet and blades. "I come with an offer from my master."
Lucien crossed his arms. "Name your master."
She smiled. And the world seemed to darken around her.
"The Lord of the Fallen Depths. King of the Abyssal Courts."
Kaelara cursed under her breath. Lira spat.
But Lucien stayed calm. Interested.
The Envoy extended a hand. Palm up.
"In exchange for a single night of union," she whispered, "you will gain a fragment of Forbidden Authority—enough to crown yourself beyond the mortal planes."
Lucien didn't answer immediately.
[System Warning: Pact Involves Risk – Unknown Spiritual Contamination Possible] [System Temptation Bonus: Forbidden Traits Unlocked If Pact Completed]
The Envoy leaned closer. Eyes half-lidded.
"You are already part shadow, my Prince. Why not embrace it fully?"
Lucien chuckled. Low. Dark.
"I never said I wouldn't."
He reached for her hand.
And the world cracked open.
The moment Lucien touched the Envoy's hand, the world around him shifted.
The ground beneath his feet dissolved into mist. The air tasted of iron and ash. Above, a blackened moon hung low and swollen, dripping tendrils of shadow into the void.
[System Alert: Temporary Realm Shift – Abyssal Gateway Entered]
Lucien stood in the center of a ritual circle formed by twisting runes and broken chains.
Across from him, the Envoy shed her leather robes—revealing skin marred with intricate scars that pulsed faintly with dark energy.
She smiled, slow and sinful.
"Here, there are no rules," she said. "No gods. No laws. Only desire… and debt."
Lucien's aura flickered. Gold rimmed with threads of midnight.
He stepped toward her, unhurried. Unbothered.
"You think you're offering something I can't get elsewhere?"
The Envoy's smile widened.
"I offer the taste of eternity."
She pressed her body to his.
[System Notice: Abyssal Pact Initiation – Physical and Spiritual Union Required]
Lucien didn't flinch. Didn't hesitate.
He grabbed her hips. Lifted her. And thrust into her with a single, brutal motion.
The Envoy cried out—not from pain, but from release—as shadowfire bloomed along her scars.
Lucien moved with ruthless precision, matching her darkness with his own growing hunger.
Every thrust. Every grind. Pulled more shadow into him.
[Host Assimilating Abyssal Energy – Contamination Risk: Moderate] [Benefit: Forbidden Traits Loading…]
The Envoy clawed at his back. Bit his throat. Gasped his name as if it were salvation and damnation at once.
Lucien flipped her. Took her again—harder. Deeper. Until the ritual runes themselves cracked under the force of their union.
The black moon above pulsed—once—twice—then shattered into a thousand screaming stars.
Lucien roared.
The Envoy screamed.
And the Abyss bent around them.
[Pact Completed – Forbidden Authority Fragment Acquired]
Lucien pulled free. Breathing heavy. Eyes glowing faintly red at the edges.
The Envoy knelt before him. Head bowed.
"You are more than mortal now, Crown Prince," she whispered. "You are… becoming."
Lucien smiled darkly.
"Good," he said.
"Because this world isn't ready for what I'm building."
Lucien's boots touched solid ground once more.
The Crimson Rose courtyard was unchanged—on the surface.
But to those who could feel it, the very air around him had shifted.
Kaelara tensed the moment he appeared. Lira instinctively reached for her blade. Solenne's eyes widened, hand hovering over her heart.
[System Alert: Host Aura Update – Forbidden Authority Active, Suppressed 89%]
Lucien stood still. Felt the slow pulse of darkness inside his veins. Felt the temptation to unleash it.
And smiled.
"I'm still me," he said, voice steady.
Kaelara sheathed her sword slowly. "But you're not only you anymore."
Lucien approached. Each step left faint black-gold sparks on the marble.
Naeva, Selis, and Riva appeared at the edge of the courtyard—drawn by the disturbance.
Naeva spoke first.
"What did you bring back with you, my Prince?"
Lucien paused.
And the dark power curled around him like an invisible crown.
"I brought back choice," he said.
"Strength without chains. Power without permission."
He turned to face his assembled court—his harem, his warriors, his loyal.
"You followed me when I was merely strong," Lucien said, voice growing louder. "Now you will follow me as something more."
The System pulsed.
[System Update Complete: Forbidden Evolution Path Unlocked] [New Title: King of the Half-Shadows] [New Trait: Abyssal Pulse – Aura Can Infect or Empower Targets Based on Emotional Sync]
Kaelara stepped forward. Bowed on one knee.
"We followed your fire," she said. "And we will follow your darkness, too."
Lira smirked. "Especially if it makes the sex better."
Even Solenne knelt, a rare smile on her lips.
Lucien looked up at the sky. The black sun of the Abyss still lingered faintly behind the mortal stars.
He raised his fist.
And the empire he was building felt a shudder of something greater than lust.
Destiny.
The crimson dusk stretched over Lucien's empire as he stood atop the Black Lotus Tower—the highest point of the Fanged Rose Sect.
Below, thousands of his loyalists gathered. Cultivators. Disciples. Harem-bound warriors.
Waiting. Watching.
Lucien stretched out his hand.
The air itself bent.
[System Activation: Abyssal Pulse – Domain Expansion Test]
A black-gold wave rippled out from his body. Not violent. Not chaotic.
It was seductive. Overwhelming.
Those closest to him gasped. Some dropped to their knees. Others clutched their hearts as the Pulse touched their cores, enhancing their Yin, sharpening their senses.
But none resisted.
Because the Pulse didn't take. It gave.
Kaelara's aura flared, sharper. Lira's muscles tightened, more fluid. Solenne's spiritual threads deepened, connecting with the earth.
Even Naeva, Selis, and Riva glowed brighter—tied to him now by more than devotion.
Lucien lowered his hand. The wave retracted, leaving the land pulsing with new life.
[System Alert: Yin Nexus Network Established – Passive Aura Enhancement Active for Linked Followers]
Lucien turned to his court. His family. His future.
"No longer just pleasure," he said.
"No longer just lust."
His voice cut through the gathering night.
"This empire will conquer not by blade, but by breath. Not by blood, but by bond.
They will drown in desire. And we will rise from their ashes."
The crowd roared. Thousands. Tens of thousands.
The Empire of Lust had become something far greater.
An Empire of Dominion.
Lucien smiled.
And the black stars overhead pulsed once, as if blessing the birth of a king beyond kings.
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Next Chapter: Crown of the Abyss — Forbidden Blossoms Bloom [18+]
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